Skyline and I decided that before joining the others up top, we would first be heading to the generator room. We needed to ensure that even if 42 murdered all of us, that machine would never bring harm to the wasteland again.

The loud thrumming of the large spark transformers passed into a dull hum as I wound my way down a rusty staircase that groaned under every hoofstep. Finally at the bottom, Skyline landed in front of me and hooked her hooves through the crank on the bulkhead. With a quick torque and a loud screech, the door swung open to the power control room. What greeted me was not what I had expected.

The room itself was no bigger than the inside of the garage back home was, even matching the color of the flaking 200 year old paint. A long bank of brightly lit control panels stretched along the back walls that I assumed controlled the power, but the most surprising thing was the four thick copper tubes that ran out of each wall and into the old equipment.

“Wow, those are pretty small generators. How do they generate enough to run this place?” I walked up closer to the bank of brightly glowing switches, knobs, and dials that I knew I probably shouldn’t touch. My ear perked as the quick sound of hoofsteps coming down the stairwell caught our attention.

“Whoever’s foal that thought it was a good idea to break into MY power room, is going to be sorely sorry when I get down there!” The voice of an angry mare carried into the room, beating out the sounds the equipment was making by far, and implying that had we not been invited, we might have actually had to explain ourselves.

“Oh quit yer whinin, Caliper. It’s probably just those folks who were comin.” The second voice was closer down and a lot rougher, speaking with experience and authority. “Ah told ya not ta play inta that last round.” When the pair walked through the doors, they were not what I had expected to see.

The first in was a Zebra stallion, which, seeing as it was friendship city, wasn’t odd. The odd thing was actually what he was wearing. The dark blue stable barding gave off the sheen of a well kept and washed piece of clothing, the big blocky yellow numbers on his back told me that it originally came from Stable 26. The green shine of light emit from a pipbuck he wore on his front right foreleg, making me wonder if he could give me some tips on how to use my own.

“See, what did ah tell ya! It’s just the folks we’re supposed ta give somethin to.” He smiled wearily and walked over to me, holding his hoof out. “The name’s Zeek, and it’s a pleasure, Mr…?”

“Backlash.” I took his hoof and shook it, going limp as the second thing to enter the room was a more intriguing puzzle than Zeek had been. The tan hide that nearly matched my own was worn by a buffalo, complemented by her own Stable 26 suit and pipbuck. Her lime green eyes glared at me in suspicion as she pushed her way in, nearly big enough that she didn’t fit through the doorframe. “I’m sorry if you’ve gotten this a lot, but are you two from stable 26, or did you just trade for the outfits?”

Caliper sighed out and pushed her way past Sky to get to the consols. “Great, more intolerant assholes. Just cause we’re wearing something nice doesn’t mean we had to take it from someone.”

“Hey now, he nevah said anything of tha sort.” Zeek surprisingly backed me up. I mean I truly meant no offence, but I probably could have chosen my words better. “And ta answer ya’ll’s question, we aren’t, but stable 26 up north just opened up last week and we just got back from helpin them strip their stable ta build a settlement where they can stay. When we finished, they gave us this barding and our very own pipbucks as a thanks for our hard work.”

“Dismantling an entire stable sounds like a lot of work.” Skyline crossed her hooves and sounded generally impressed. Most of the stables that had opened so far were all designed to be dismantled and repurposed to rebuild the old world, but something designed to hold at LEAST five hundred ponies meant that it was always one hell of a task.

“It was, and just yesterday we arrived back home for some much needed rest and not an hour later we were told ya’ll where goin ta need us ta help ya with somethin havin ta do with turnin off the tidal generator system.” He smiled and looked back at me. “So what exactly was it that we can do for ya?”

“I need access to your tidal generator systems, specifically your Hydroelectric Magnet regulator.” As I spoke, I took it by their confused expressions that they hadn’t actually been told what we needed. (That thing’s name was too damn long, and a pain to remember. You can’t blame me for not remembering it.)

Skyline hopped in, trying to help speed this awkward task along. “So if you could just go over to them and grab it, that would be great.” She pointed her hoof to one of the pipes on the wall.

“Fucking fantastic.” Caliper sounded as if we had just asked her to join in on the front lines of the assault against 42, the amount of anger in her voice surprising for as little was said. Maybe buffalo are just quick to anger? The last couple I’ve met pretty much fit the bill, but I was hoping that it was just brought on by some factor of wasteland living. “Now we have to take the ferry, AGAIN.”

“Wait, what?” To my understanding, normally stable dwellers have a better education than most of us wastelanders, but did she not know what a ferry was? “but… they are right there.” I joined Sky in pointing, finding it annoying when Zeek started to laugh softly.

“Ya’ll know that those aren't generators, those are tha bilge pumps. Why, if they weren't constantly running, we'd all be undah water right now!” My mind went blank as I looked around at the room. It was just the four pipes and that control panel, and nowhere could I see where the generators would lead into here. “No, tha generators couldn't be built here, tha current is too wild this far out of tha harbor. Yah’d never get any real power through here, so they built them a bit further in.”

The gears in my head spun up, grinding together as they fed me what I didn’t want to hear slowly. “Further in? Like, how much further.” The information was kicked into my head by the gears, making me angry that I had never even considered the connection!

“Well they built ‘em right inta tha base of tha bucklyn bridge and tied it directly inta tha statue! Pretty smart work if ya ask me.” He sounded proud for answering. But he lacked the perspective I had. I knew that 42 already had the regulator by now, it had to have been why she chose there as her final battle ground.

“You’ve got to be shitting me!” Skyline found the will to express exactly what I was feeling at that moment.

“This doesn’t change anything.” I put my hoof up to her, thankful she didn’t fly into a rant. “We still need it. Maybe instead of working their way up, Casserole and Longbow can work their way down from the entrance way. They can destroy it while 42 is busy dealing with us up top.”

“What makes you so sure she’ll even be up there?” Sky threw back at me with a tone of annoyance. A tone I would have shared if I didn’t already see an issue like this coming up.

“Because I’ll be up there.” I fired back, shifting her expression to one of worry. I reached my forehoof out and watched as she grabbed it, pulling herself into it warmly. “Because we will be up there.”

“Ahem.” Caliper cleared her voice. “Did you still want to do this? Or do you two need to get a room?”

“She’s my sister!” I yelled out my frustration at the same moment that Sky mirrored my complaint. Seriously, I thought that I was past this!

“I’m not judging who you love, just…” Caliper smartly remarked before getting cut off.

“That’s enough now. These folks didn’t poke fun, and makin lil quips like that ain’t gonna help yah look any better when yah already don’t want them ta comment about yah.” Zeek stepped up and hoofed through his saddlebag, pulling out a long gray wire. He hooked one end into the large control panels and then trailed the other up to his pipbuck, pressing it into the connector slot with a soft click. “Normally somethin like this would take a few day ta prep, but since we got fancy computer thingies on hoof, an I figured out how ta use it this mornin, tha process should only take a moment!”

“How do pipbuck’s help with old equipment like this?” I shrugged and looked down at mine, unhappy to see that sometime in the last few minutes the vacuum tube burnt out. Looks like my next stop is up to the markets for a replacement. There is no way I’d go into a fight with 42 without this thing, even if it hasn’t really helped me so far.

“Yah can use the auto override ta access anything. In this case, it’s the safety disconnect on the bridge side of the connection.” He looked down at the small arcano tech device, twisting it as it emitted a familiar set of beeps. “but in usin this, there’s no guarantee that doing whateveh ya’ll are going to won’t cause a surge and take out the backup generator here in the process. Ah’m just gonna have ta ask that when ya’ll are down there, that yah manually open tha circuit before ya shutdown tha generator fer good.”

I know how to work an electrical system, but there was something that still didn’t make sense to me. “What the fuck is auto override?”

That made him look at me like I was crazy. “How… how do yah have a pipbuck an not know about it? It was in the tutorial!”

“Yeah, I can guarantee my tutorial was different.” I held my pink, shoddy looking one up and shook it. “Not to mention, I’m not a very code savvy pony.”

“Gee, I nevah woulda guessed.” He rolled his eyes and smiled. “Reguardless, it’s a life saver when yah can just plug inta an machine and get overriding control of it, well, as long as it’s not got software incompatibilities or passwords tah get through.” A loud beep came from his pipbuck, drawing both of our attentions to it. “Well, that’s it. Yah should be able tah just remove the part now without killin yerself off feedback.”

“Thank you. I know it’s going to be tough, but I assure you, it’s going to be for the best.” I nodded and turned to leave.

“Woah, woah, woah.” Caliper spoke up. “I don’t care what you assure. The second you cut out the power here, it’s going to be a nightmare to get anything up and running again. This is IF the pumps aren’t needed long enough so that we can even attempt to rig up a replacement. As far as I’m concerned, you are going to owe me for this shit.”

“Now calm down Caliper, this was a favor from the city council.” Zeek had the look of wanting to defend me, but I’m guessing that unlike me, he didn’t know how to handle an angry buffalo.

“What do you want then?” I asked, not wanting to waste any more time. I’d just have to add her request to the list of shit I have to do that I’ve been neglecting for nearly my whole month long adventure.

“Well. For starters, you could get the my Pinkie back.” She smirked, glad to see I had gotten down to business. If it hadn’t been for what she had asked for, I might have argued against it being the ‘first thing’ on her list. “Somepony stole it earlier this morning, but I’m fairly certain from how they smelled that they were just going to sell it for drugs. So you might try Old Miss Leek’s shop in the market, Seymour’s Herbs.”

“Fine.” On second thought, I didn’t care for bartering right now. Not to mention, that was a fairly simple request, and if it cost to much, I’d just wait until after we get back to do her tasks. And at that point, I would actually be able to focus on getting a better deal out of it.

“Then if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to fixing this console before it goes out completely. Come back down when you’ve got it.” She smiled and turned around, rousing a sigh out of Zeek.

“You know that thing will never break. I’ve never seen a console break in my life.” Zeek spoke with a tone of clarity and wonder. He liked arcano tech more than most I guess. “It is beyond me why the old world wanted these things to last this long. Never need to replace anything inside them and they never quit on yah! Why, not once in my travels have I seen one that isn’t still all lit up and shinin.”

“Well, we have.” Sky’s voice speaking up came as a shock while the gears in my head tried to spin up. Sky turned to me with a curious look. “While Brass was patching me up after Forty Two shot me, I noticed that none of the control panels down there were working. Remember?”

I tried to think back to that moment, but it was all a bit fuzzy. Most likely due to the head trauma I had endured then (Or maybe it was the hit’s to the head I’d taken after) that had screwed with my memory. Sky sounded like she was adamant that this was the truth, and honestly, that was all I needed.

“Well, I’m sure that it’s the only exception.” Caliper spoke up angrily. “But unless you get your flank over here, we’re riskin this to be the first one WE’VE ever seen.” I took that as our cue to go and nodded to Zeek. The two of them down here certainly made an unassuming pair, but wasn’t that what friendship city was all about? Wasn’t this place supposed to be the greatest example of tolerance in the wastes? Some part of me wanted to believe that the residents here cared that 42 was out there, and wanted to stand behind me until they saw her stopped. Another part of me knew that I was just grasping at any thought I could that might keep me going in my own battles. And the last part of me, just wanted the gears in my head to stop spinning and let me rest until I could take her down.

“Come on sis, let’s get up to the markets.” I sighed as we approached the stairwell. “Why couldn’t they have had a working elevator?”

After climbing the flights of stairs up to ground level, I was mercifully stopped by Isaac as he poked his head through the hatch leading to outside. Skyline stepped past him and flared her wings, looking back to me with a soft smile.

“I’m going to check on Carlotta, I’ll be back in an hour.” She waited for me to give a nod before hopping into the air, taking off into the dark skies as Isaac hoofed a small jar out of the saddlebag he wore. It was full of tiny blue specks that shimmered in a most peculiar way, almost reminding me of something as rare as glitter. This shine however, was different.

“I wondered if you knew any ponies who could make use of this. I confiscated it earlier from a trader who assured me that it was harmless, but I know better.” He hoofed it over to me, shrugging as he sat down. “Even if it is harmless like this, it is far too dangerous to keep in a city surrounded by water.”

Here he was speaking with a note of fear about a jar of glitter, moving it up from a casual curiosity, to an interesting puzzle in my mind. I held it close to my face “What is it?”

He looked surprised by my question. “You mean you have not seen this in your journeys? I was sure that you would recognize Killing Joke when you saw it.” He sighed and looked up to the sky as I tried to process that I had a jar of the most lethal plant in the wasteland just sitting in my bag. “I had hoped to know if drying it could indeed make it safe, but if it is all the same, I would like you to take it when you leave the city. Quite a few here have had bad run ins with it, and I fear that they may get angry to know it is being kept around.”

“Speaking of bad run-ins.” I watched as he perked his ears and studied me with his eyes. “How have you been getting settled in? With as friendly as everypony… I mean everyone is, I would hope you haven’t had any problems.”

“It has been… interesting.” The way he spoke had a note of sadness to it. “So far, it seems that the community is split on their opinion of me.”

That seemed unlikely, especially in a town like this “What about the other zebras?”

“This is where the problem stems. They know I am not a normal zebra, and shun me as an evil being.” The way he said it, it was like he was ready to just give up on them. Though, there was still hope in his words, and I want to do everything I can to make him settle in.

“What is it with you zebras and curses? This is cursed, that is cursed!” I laughed, making an smile come across his face. “Come on Isaac, you know the other ponies don’t believe a word when it comes to curses.” At least I hope they don’t… “You’ve got to have found someone who doesn’t care.”

“Half of them think that because the zebra hate me, I am to be trusted. The 'enemy of my enemy' idea. The other Half think that if even the zebra won't take me, than I should be avoided all the same.” He scuffed his hoof at the ground. “It is, to say the least, disheartening...”

“I thought this place was better than all that.” They’ve always been nice to me when I’ve visited, but then again I’m a pony. Was that truly the reason, or was it the fact that I’m a merchant?

“It is fine. I am not without acquaintances, and now that you are here, I have even more to be with.” He nodded to me and got back up. “It is now the end of my shift, would you like to join me for a drink?”

I had so much stuff to do to prepare, I really didn’t have time for relaxing. “Sure.” And there I go promising things I shouldn’t again. “But first I have to head up to the market, so I’ll be there in a few, alright?”

He smiled warmly and headed inside, turning and dashing up the stairs with his ridiculous quickness. I stood for a moment in the doorway leading outside, listening to the wind as it howled across the open harbor. The gears in my head were still spinning from earlier, trying to put the pieces into place on a puzzle I still had no idea how to solve, or what had even triggered it. The one question I wanted on my mind was not what puzzle was it that the gears were putting together, but would it matter at all when it was time for the assault?

I decided to get moving and head toward the market, eager to see if I could get a few things for the fight. So up the stairs I climbed, flight after flight. The climb wasn’t quite as bad as I remembered it being before, even with my legs protesting, I knew that it was just from the taxation of the week. Who knew that all it took for me to get into better shape was a month of being nearly killed? Although I do have to say it’s been the worst weight loss plan I’ve ever been on.

Having climbed to the market level, I twisted open the hatch with my hooves and entered. The whole level was bustling with activity today with ponies from all over equestria in shouting matches with shopkeepers for a good deal while others were wildly clanging their wares together to find any buyers at all. The sight was always one I had normally enjoyed when I came here, finding it the perfect place to make sure my bartering skills were still as good as they could be. I looked around at the shops, finding that a few had changed hooves since I had been here last. I was delighted to see the shop I was looking for had a large sign hanging over it. Seymour’s herbs had been here the last few years, even though they sold drugs which is forbidden within the city, the council was half made up of zebras who shopped there for alchemical ingredients.

I trotted up to the front of the stall, swinging my eye across the shelves of dried plants and small vials, stopping when a small pink object caught my attention. The pink mane and bright blue eyes of Pinkie Pie peered out at me from behind a row of Dash inhalers sitting in a clear, plastic box. For only a moment, my mind drifted back to the Pool, reminding me of exactly what Dash could do. Somthing like that could be immensely useful in a fight against 42. Addiction would be worth the risk if it meant getting the upper hoof in a fight. I smiled and looked down at the old, gray maned mare in a rocking chair that was running the shop, my grin dropping away as she sat unmoving.

“Hello?” I asked, leaning myself in closer. The brown mare continued to sit completely still, the lacy pink dress she wore giving me no indication on whether or not she was even breathing. “Miss Leek, are you alright?” I reached my hoof out and placed it onto her shoulder, giving her a soft shake.

“What now… Seymour, is that you?” She stirred awake, looking about in confusion. Her once blue eyes had dulled softly, sitting unfocused as she blinked and turned her ears for an answer. She was now completely blind, but that wasn’t a surprise as her eyesight had been going for years now.

“No ma’am. My name is Backlash. I’m here to buy something.” I gave her a warm smile, which was stupid of me, since she couldn’t see it.

“You aren’t Seymour, my husband’s been dead for almost a year!” She swatted at me with her hoof angrily. “You must be a thief then!” How did she jump to this? “Help, theif!” Was she using a bit too much of her own product to think clearly anymore, or was it just her age? Regardless, it was damn annoying that she couldn’t recognize I was a customer.

“I’m not a thief! I’m just trying to buy something!” I shouted back at her, stopping her mid flail. Of course this wasn’t going to be an ‘easy’ errand, I just had to go and think maybe I’d get lucky and have a quick task for once. Well, on the bright side, at least she hasn’t tried to kill me yet. With how off her train of thought was however, I wasn’t so sure that was off the table.

“A customer? Then why didn’t you say so?” She sighed and crossed her forehooves.

“I thought I had…” I grumbled, walking past her over to the counter near the back wall. I pushed the dash box aside. First things first is to secure the statue, then if I have enough I’ll get the dash as well. I stopped and scrunched up my muzzle as a realization hit me. I was actually planning to buy drugs, and it felt… odd. I knew I needed them, but was it because I needed them for the fight? Or because I liked the way that it made me feel back in the Pool? I pushed those thoughts aside, seeing as I knew they would help against 42, and that I needed to focus on getting this done.

“How much for the figurine back here?” I asked, keeping my tone down to a slightly disinterested one. “I’ll give you fifty caps for it.”

“Oh, that old thing? It’s a family heirloom, had it for generations.” She lied to me. She knew that she had just gotten it, and was just trying to bump up the price on it. That may work on anypony else shopping here, but not me. “I couldn’t part with it for any less than…” She thought for a moment. “Three hundred caps.”

“I can’t do that much, I only have a hundred on me.” I lied this time. I should have around one hundred and twenty on me.

“Sonny, let’s quit the foals play. You know I’m lying, I know you’re lying.” She lowered her ears as she spoke. I should have known that her hearing was probably as good as mine, seeing as she didn’t have her eyes anymore and is still doing well for herself in this place. “We’re both respectable business ponies here.” She stopped for a moment and put a hoof to her chin. “You are a pony, aren’t you?”

“That is correct.” I probably let a bit of my hesitation out in my words, but it shouldn’t matter. I looked down to myself, looking over my scared and burnt half.

“You say yes, then shake your head no.” She shrugged and began rocking in her chair. How could she have gotten a gesture through the sounds of me moving? “My offer still stands at three hundred.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have that much.” Well, this was a disappointment.

“I’ll pay for it.” The voice of Twain spoke up from around the edge of the stall, his smug smile widening as he looked at me. “I thought I saw you walk into the market. It’s good to see you made it up here in one piece.” He hoofed out a large leather pouch and tossed it to the old mare. “I was just about to head to the bar for a beer, you up for talking about what you want for that little gold key?”

“Yeah, was going to meet up with a friend there anyway.” I wrapped the figure in my fetlock and walked from the shop, the gears in my head churning harder as I slipped the pink statuette into my bags. A random thought popped into my head. “I might have another job that you could do in return for it.”

The gears in my head hadn’t stopped, still trying to crunch something important together. I knew it had to be important, but as Twain and I reached the entrance to the Muddy Rudder tavern, I couldn’t imagine what it was.

“Really? you want me to work with a bunch of steel assholes, AGAIN? One time was bad enough.” Twain shook his head as we walked into the bar, the both of us stopping as a commotion from the patriots now held our attention. I found myself looking at an odd pair of ponies who were dressed in old security guard outfits, making them Isaac’s coworkers if I were to guess. Despite their shouting voices, he wore a smile on his muzzle as he rubbed at his neck with his forehoof.

“How could you let another one get away!?” The small, crimson coated unicorn mare yelling at him had a temper that matched the fiery, bright red mane that adorn her. “With you either catching or losing them all, we’re never going to work off our debt at this rate!” With as young as she was, I was surprised to see her working someplace like this.

“Now now, Miss Slayer, I am not the one who couldn’t pay for gorging herself.” Isaac sat down and looked up at me, giving me a nod before returning his attention to the young mare. “You agreed to work off your debt, and Mr. Stew allowed you to do it by making this city a better place.”

“Yeah yeah.” She waved her hoof back at him. “The sooner we pay it back, the sooner the big lug and I can quit wasting our time here and get back to what we do best!”

“Eating ponies out of house and home?” The large light blue stallion with a blond mane, who up until now had just been observing the argument, finally put in a thought. The only problem was that from the way his statement sounded, he didn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed. However that antique sword he carried at his side looked as sharp as any well made blade I’d seen.

“Shut it, you dolt!” I couldn’t help buck look on in confusion as the mare smashed the big guy on his head with her hoof. “Now Xellos, why don’t you be a pal and let me mark this down as our win. What do you say?”

“I would say…” I could already tell what he was going to say with the look of elation across his face. “that you are going to need to be as fast as me if you want me to even think of considering that.”

She hung her head with a groan “But you’re freakishly fast! How the hell do you even do it?”

Isaac smiled and wagged his hoof at her. “Now that, is a secret!”

She facehoofed hard and growled in anger, her horn glowing brightly before the blue stallion put a hoof on her shoulder. She stopped and looked up to him as he did nothing but glare towards the other door across the room. The angry mare sighed and nodded, turning from Isaac toward the exit. “Come on Lightsword, it’s Tesla and Zel’s shift in a few. Let’s go wake them up.”

Longbow pushed past them as they left, smiling as she saw me, but pausing for a moment when she saw Twain. “Hey, what’s he doing here?” She eyed over him suspiciously, getting a grunt from him.

“I’ll be at the bar, come sit when you’re done.” He brushed past Isaac as he walked forward, letting Isaac take his place next to me.

“Twain has agreed to join your team for the bridge assault.” I watched her process the information with surprising calmness. I had expected her to argue or interject with how she ‘doesn’t need more protection’, or that she ‘doesn’t trust somepony like him’.

“I’ll make sure he’s briefed on what to do, which should be simple seeing as I borrowed the bridge blueprints from the Manehatten museum curator on the lower levels. Maple and the others in his squad are each being divided into team leaders for when team one and two get in position.” She shook her head and dropped her gaze to the floor. “I just hope we have enough, assaulting an ensconced defender requires ten to one odds, and we don’t even…”

I put my hoof up to her muzzle and gave her a nod. “We will have enough. We need to, if there is any hope of killing 42.”

“If there is anything I may do to help, just ask.” Isaac chimed in, surprising the hell out of me.

“No. I will not ask you to risk your…” The gears in my head ground down for a moment, sending a spike of pain through my head. This caused enough of a pause that my brain actually heard what I was about to say. This is it, the final assault against 42. We needed as many ponies as we could, and if he offered, I was going to take him up on it. “Fuck, we can’t afford not to have you with us.”

“You can go in with my team.” Longbow pushed my hoof from her slowly. “The two main groups above will probably funnel them down to us, so we will need all the reinforcement we can get.”

“Then you might be interested in using my boat as well.” As he spoke, my ear picked up at something in Isaac’s voice I hadn’t heard from him yet. A sense of purpose. He sounded as if it was his duty to help, and that he was grateful he could.

“Since when do you have a boat?” I looked to him as I rubbed at my aching head.

“I told you, none were accepting of my presence, so I traded the room they signed over to me for a fairly decent fishing vessel.” Isaac smiled. “He told me a ship like that goes for quite a few caps in it’s condition, but it was worth it for a rent free room in the city. I think it was a fairly decent trade.”

I looked over to Longbow, who looked just as confused at me. She shrugged and smirked. “Well, that will certainly be better than my original plan to get our group over.”

“Oh? And how was that going to be?” Now that she brought it up, I’m not sure how they were going to assault the lower sections in the first place.”

“Well, with such little time left, I was just going to have Frosted Cakes steal us one.” She looked up to me with a hint of guilt in her eyes. Longbow had surprised me several times on our journey, but stealing I had thought completely out of the question for her. Though, I would have thought the same thing because… “If it brings down Forty Two, anything is worth it, right?” She gave me a small nervous smile.

I love how the two of us think.

“Hey, errand boy!” The annoyed voice of Caliper called out behind me. “I thought I told you to grab my figure, not drink the night away!” While that was true, and I did manage to get a bit off track, I had still planned on heading back down. Didn’t I? Ugh, it’s these fucking gears turning in my head that have gotten my mind all jumbled up.

“Sorry!” I turned around to see her hobbling towards me with a bandage wrapped around her forehoof. “You alright there?”

“Fucking terminal casing gave me a good zap.” She shook her hoof as I reached into my saddlebag and hoofed out the small figure, taking a moment to really look at it. “Yeah, I swear that casing is the only reason terminals never fail. Their energy absorption rate is phenomenal.” I felt compelled to read the words inscribed along the base, speaking without really knowing why I had to.

“Awareness! It was under ‘E’!”

With that, the floodgates in my mind opened as the gears spun out more than I thought they could. The research station in the middle of the forest, the busted terminals in the pond cave, 42’s actual reason for being there, Project Golem’s final audiolog, and Pinkie’s riddle to me now fit all neatly together. ”It's the only place you can normally go to find it… under Eeee.”

“What are you blathering on about now?” Caliper reached out and snatched the statuette from my hoof.

I couldn’t fight the wide grin across my face as I realized how simple it had all been. I had always heard about how Twilight Sparkle had been the most intelligent of the Ministry Mares, so who would think she’d hide the pond someplace as simple as that! 42 couldn’t find it when she was there, she needed me to figure it out for her, and if Twilight can outsmart her, then 42 wasn’t perfect. That means that however small, there is still a chance that we can do this.

“Nothing.” I shooed her away, pushing her from to the back of my mind as I turned to Longbow. “How long do we have until the other rangers arrive?”

Longbow thought for a moment. “Well, I spent the last fifteen minutes looking for you, and taking into account the average time it would take to get there…” She waved her hoof in the air, doing math in her head. “I’d say we’ve got just about an hour.”

“What!?” I spat out in shock. “This wasn’t the plan at all! They were supposed to get here tomorrow!”

“And every time you’ve planned something, 42 has been expecting it. So I pushed up the plans when I was back at base.” She smiled as I blinked, sitting there in awe. It was brilliant in both it’s inception and execution. “She’ll never see this coming.” I was so happy that I could just kiss her! Unfortunately as I went to hug her, she stopped me. “But ,in case you didn’t realize this, it means you have to get ready to go now. I’ll get Isaac and that asshole back there ready, but Maple is already waiting for you at the dock.”

“I love you.” I really wished that I had more time to spend with her. “Wait, but what about Skyline?” Longbow looked puzzled at my question. “She’s at Tenpony with Carlotta, if she returns, can you make sure she know’s where I am?” She gave a nod in response and leaned in, giving the end of my muzzle a soft kiss before turning toward Twain.

“Oh, wait for a moment.” Longbow’s eyes brightened, looking back to me as her horn glowed, pulling her Gauss pistol from her saddlebag. “I won’t need it when I’m in my armor. It only has a few shots left, but I hope you won’t have to use them.”

“Thank you.” I took the weapon into my hooves, feeling grateful for all that she’s done for me. “I’ll make sure not to waste the shots.” Turning, I held my hoof out to Isaac and smiled to him, happy when he took my hoof and gave it a firm shake. “See you after the fight!”

“Likewise. Please be safe.” He offered as he let go and followed after Longbow.

I made my way back down the corridor, almost flying down the stairs that lead to the marketplace in a mad rush to find supplies. Safety’s firearms was my first stop, I needed to see what ammo I could pick up there. Then I unfortunately needed to get to Seymore’s again, I was sure I had seen a few potions on her shelves, and I’m sure those will be quite useful. The gears in my head spun up again, throwing out the image of the Dash vials sitting there. I bit my lip lightly as I thought. What was the harm is getting them? If I need them to kill 42, addiction is a better alternative to dying.

I burst past a few groups of ponies just hanging around the entrance to the market, pushing myself to get this done as quickly as possible. I skid to a stop in front of a very surprised Safety Catch, who looked unsure if he should grab a gun to sell me, or to use on me.

“Whoa there buddy, where’s the fire?” He gave a nervous smile, his right foreleg twitching as I knew it was curled around the barrel of the gun behind his counter.

“I need ammo, and it’s got to be quick.” I stopped and thought what I would need. I only had Heartstopper, the Twins, and now Longbow’s gauss pistol on me. “Preferably twelve gauge, nine millimeter and two millimeter gauss.”

“I was pretty much cleaned out earlier today, but I think…” He looked around quickly, trotting to the back of his stall and shuffling through a few boxes as he spoke. “Ah-ha! I knew I still had some left!” He brought over a box of 12 gauge shotgun shells with a smile. Here you are. That will be thirty five caps.”

“Sure, but that’s all you’ve got?” This was going to be a VERY short fight if it came down to it. I know I still had at least a mag’s worth for the Twins, but this was going to have to be enough.

“Like I said, I got cleaned out earlier today, sorry.” He actually had sorrow in his words, but I knew from experience that it was more from the fact that he didn’t have more to sell me. I reached into my bags and counted out the assorted caps, hoofing them over before dragging the shotgun shells into my bag. “Pleasure doing business.”

I didn’t bother giving him a ‘good day’ in return, instead pushing myself off and galloping towards Miss Leek’s stall. She was still in her chair, but this time I could see an empty dash inhaler in her hoof. I fucking knew she was using her own shit, but I really hope that she is still composed enough to make a fair sale. Her tipping her head up to me as I approached was a good sign that she was at least still conscious.

I rushed past her, biting down on the two simple health potions she had on the shelf, and wrapped my fetlock around the box of Dash that I assumed no longer held the amount I saw earlier. I dumped them on the counter in front of me and danced on my hooves, eager to keep moving.

“Hmm? What?” Here words were disorderly and slurred. I knew she was crashing from the drug and wasn’t going to last much longer in all probability. “You want my Jet?”

“All of it! How much!?” This was going to take too long, and I don’t even think she’d make it through a negotiation if she kept the price too high.

“Well lets see…” She rubbed her chin softly and squinted at the clear, plastic box they sat in. “For all these? Hmmm.” Was she going infuriatingly slow just because she knew I was in a hurry, or did the universe just hate me that much this month that she literally took this long to process a single thought?

“Words…” I rolled my forehoof, hoping she would get the hint to go faster. “Speak words old mare!”

“Twenty caps…” She spoke so slowly, I knew that she had to be crazy to charge that little for them. “Each.” There was the catch. There was no way I could afford that right now, but there is no way I’m going into a battle like this without being completely prepared. For the first time in my life, I was going to resort to something as a merchant I swore I’d never do. Not to say that what might amount to as the rest of my life was worth ruining my merchant's reputation with theft, but the better off I am from this point, the more lives might be saved in the long run. That makes sense, right?

“Great!” I shouted, pulling my money pouch from my bag and throwing it at her. The bag struck her in the muzzle and split, throwing my meager amount of caps all over the floor as I scooped the supplies into my bag. If I had known I was just going to steal, I should have probably grabbed more from the shelves. There was no time for regrets now, and I didn’t give her any time to come to her senses before I was gone.

My hooves slammed against the old metal flooring and grating that made up the stairwells back down to the docks, groaning precariously as I thundered down flight after flight. The thought that I might be running straight towards my doom flashed through my mind, but I did my best to shove that thought as far back as I could. I owed it to my family and friends to at least live long enough to kill 42 and try to give reparations for the ones my own hooves were responsible for getting killed.

I threw my weight into the ground level access hatch, slamming it open as I a startled Maple, who reflexively moved to bite down on a weapon bit that he forgot was still in his unworn helmet. I panted heavily as I did my best to not look too winded. Going up wasn’t so bad, sure, but regulating my balance when working my way down hastily took a lot more work than I had thought it would. The darkening skies made the air mercifully cold, helping my now aching joints feel a bit better as I stood in the open.

“Goddesses, Backlash, slow down.” He visibly relaxed as I took notice of the other paladins who were standing around. “We’re just going over our final check as the rest of the weapons you sold us is divided up and loaded onto the barges. We should be ready to depart for the shore in the next ten minutes or so.

“You mean…” I panted heavily as he looked at me curiously. “I had… time before… we went!?” My legs gave out as I realized I rushed down here for nothing. Well, at the very least, it might take Miss Leek a bit to realize I had ripped her off, and even longer to report me to the guards for it. The cold ground below me felt good on my coat, the idea of taking a small nap while I waited sounding more and more like a good idea by the moment. I shook my head and forced myself back to my legs, knowing that if I slept, I might not wake in time for the fight. I can’t risk my coordination being off for this, not by one bit.

“I suggest you wait on the barge, I will join you as soon as I go over the plan with them.” Maple shrugged and pointed a hoof to the barge we took over here. My guess was that once they got the barge back over, they would use the tug itself to bring the others to the other end of the bridge. I don’t know which side we would be assaulting from, but either way was sure to be a deathtrap if 42 would keep to her usual tricks.

I did as was asked, trotting my way to the barge and taking my place in front of the same window I had looked out of on the way in here. I listened for the next few minutes to the sound the waves made against the shore, letting it relax me lightly. There came a point when the silence reminded me of how alone I was. I thought it best to get some noise going so my own thoughts didn’t drift anywhere I didn’t want them to. Knowing that we still had a little bit of time to kill, I lifted my pipbuck, swapping out the S.A.T.S. fuse over to the radio. I’d have to swap it back but right now I just want to try clearing my mind. With a quick click, the radio started up and though it was at the end of the song, I enjoyed the sad slow tunes of Sweetie Bell that flowed through the air.

“Gooooood evening Wastelanders! It’s me, your friendly radio DJ Pon3, coming at you from Manehatten on this gloomy and depressing evening. I’d like to start tonight’s update with a bit of alarming news coming from the settlement of Red Wing.”

42 couldn’t be in Red Wing, right? She wanted to fight at the bridge, and there is no way she would miss out on getting the drop on me. Maybe it’s something else? Maybe it was just a mine collapse, or maybe Pariah was killed by a manticore or something.

“It looks like a whole army of raiders has descended on the poor town, and the only thing standing between them and complete annihilation is their town walls. I’m also getting reports of a large mechanical monster fighting the raiders as well, but who knows if it will stop with them or continue by slaughtering Red Wing. Will it fall to the thousand pony siege force? Who knows kiddos.”

A thousand fucking raiders!? 42 must have gathered all of the gangs from here to Baltimare just for that one assault. Even if we killed 42 in the next hour and turned our sights on saving Red Wing, we’d get there a day from now and there is no way the walls were going to last that long. At least P.I.N.K. and B.I.T. were there to help them, and I’m sure their appearance is the only reason the walls have lasted this long in the first place.

“In other, less depressing news, Tenpony tower was freed from it’s own Ganger threat yesterday by none other, than our beloved Crusaders. Now now, I know what all you ponies out there are saying. ‘Why do they keep fighting for us like this?’. Well, as it turns out my little ponies, I have an answer for you, and it’s simpler than you think. It’s because they believe in the wasteland. They believe in the good that not just us ponies can do, but that all who live in our time can accomplish if we work together instead of against…”

*Fzzzzkrack*

The pipbuck shot a spark out of its side and went dark, the pink readout in my eye fuzzed away quickly and left me wondering what just happened. I looked down at it, shaking and tapping at the screen to see if it was just a loose connection, but it seemed like it was going to stay dead, which meant it was going to be a lot worse than just bad wiring. I was going to be completely vulnerable in this fight if it didn’t restart by the time the bullets started flying.

“Alright, let’s go! That bitch isn’t going to kill herself!” Maple shouted just before the barge lurched ever so slightly. This was it, no going back from here. How is it that despite my best efforts to be prepared for this, I am walking in with little more than a hope and a prayer that we can do this?

I was slightly disappointed when the barge had crossed to the other side of the harbor, where Maple, Frosted Cakes and I disembarked with a few other Paladins, quickly making our way through the dark streets toward the east onramp to the bridge. I had hoped to use the Marauder as a quick means to get up there, but from the amount of rubble on this side of the bay, most of it would have made car travel impossible. Maple gave a grunt as a signal to turn, steering us all towards an old shipping warehouse that sat next to the onramp. As we entered, the soft lanterns attached to hooded acolytes helped me to see that the thirty or so ponies here had been hard at work repairing the armor of the eleven other paladins standing before us.

One of them stepped forward when we entered, throwing up a quick salute to Maple. “Sir, the scouts report that the bridge truss closest to us has been reinforced, and is mostly being manned by raiders at the moment.” His glance drifted to me for only a moment, where a look of horror and disgust flashed across his expression just enough so I could see it. “The pink mare has also been seen at various points, but our snipers haven’t been able to get a clean shot.”

“Thank you initiate. Remind them not to engage in the fight until we have started taking fire.” Maple motioned for the young stallion to go as he looked back to me, cocking his eyebrow. “Would you like to borrow some armor? You’re pretty much going in naked now that your pipbuck is dead.”

It was funny, he had noticed it right off the bat when we were talking, but he still didn’t get that 42 was playing a game, and that she wanted me alive. “I’ll be fine, trust me. Just make sure to punch a hole in their defences to get me inside. Once I’m in, it will be just me and her, understand?”

“That’s suicide, you’ve seen what she can do.” He shook his head.

“No, it’s up to me to stop her, and anypony who steps in will only serve as a means of leverage against me.” It was my fight, and they were already risking enough. “I just need you to open up a clear path for me and keep the raiders at bay. Think you can do that?”

My ears were met with the sound of creaking wood, drawing my attention to a hooded pony who was prying open a familiar looking box. Inside sat the pink missiles that I had claimed from under the farmhouse, and upon seeing them again, my curiosity as to what they did was rekindled. Well, I won’t have to wait long to find out I guess.

“Easy enough.” He paused for a moment before he put his helmet on. “We will be there if you call for aid. We agreed to help you, but I know what this mare is capable of just as you do, we are all ready to give our lives if it means keeping that thing from living any longer.”

“I understand.” I nodded as his helmet gave a hiss as it sealed to him. “And thank you, Maple. For everything you and your squad have done.” I held my hoof out, receiving a firm hoofshake from him in return.

“Don’t thank me yet…” He cut himself off, canting his head as he held a hoof up in an attempt to keep me silent. “Looks like the other team radioed in that they have started across the bridge, so it’s time to get this started.” He looked back to the other paladins, who stiffened up and stood at attention. “Listen up! We are to cause enough of a diversion to both allow the tertiary team to get into position, and to break a hole in their line big enough to get Backlash here inside.” He paused as the paladins each nodded in confirmation. “Alright, let’s get moving!”

As we trot, part of me was glad that Sky wasn’t here. I hoped that she had simply, lost track of time and spent an extra few minutes with Carlotta. As much as I didn’t want to break the promise I made after this all started, I didn’t want her to come with me. 42 would kill her, I knew this, and if that happened? There is no way I could maintain enough focus to keep myself from getting killed by her as well. No, it was better this way.

The dark streets of Manehatten were quiet tonight, with not even the wind anymore to dampen the loud stomps the armored ponies following me gave off. It was amazing how the rangers could just follow orders, knowing they could be doing so in futility. It was something I hadn’t really thought about much before last month, thinking that all the rangers did was bully the wastelanders around on a whim. What I had learned was very different. They are no different from an other pony in the wastes, simply scared and doing what they think is the best for their own survival. Yes, some like Maple stood out in a negative light, but I know in time, he could change his ways.

This thought ran through my mind again and again as we made our way up the overpass, helping to distract me from the two steel monoliths rising into the sky before us. Hastily patched up sections of the towers glowed softly from the numerous fires keeping the interior lit while quick shadows darted around as we approached. The truss that ran between the towers at the top had a large shack constructed on top of it, and was something I hadn’t remembered seeing before. As we approached, the shack lit up like a stage, and I immediately knew why I hadn’t remembered it. 42 was all about the theatrics, of course.

Even from this far, I could see when 42 walked forward onto the stage, and as my eye burned, I knew she was staring right at me. The fact that she wasn’t at Red Wing ment that they actually had a chance to win their fight, but the fact that she was up on that stage so readily, meant that she knew we were coming. I just hope that she didn’t assume Longbow had a team coming up from below. The loud report of a large caliber rifle filled the night air, which filled the stage with smoke. No, not smoke. The stage was surrounded by some sort of bullet resistant glass, and had simply cracked in front of where 42 stood.

“Shit, I told them to wait.” Maple’s voice didn’t come as a surprise. It was a good attempt, but 42 wouldn’t make a move like that without protection. “Well, looks like…” He was interrupted as a sharp screech of feedback came across the air, making me fold my ear down and cringe.

“Well good evening fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to the feature event for the heavyweight championship of the world!” 42’s voice boomed from whatever soundsystem she had hooked up to bridge, carrying across the silent city in eerie echoes. The echos were soon followed by the cheers and excited shouts of her followers, their taunts and whistles reminding me that she had a sizable force inside the fortified structure. As we made our way up the road I could see that all the rusting hulks of skycars and busses had been pushed together to create a makeshift wall. “Fans, with us tonight is truly one of the greats, coming up from the east side, the master of disaster, the king of sting, the one and only, Backlash!”

A spotlight from just under the stage flicked on and swung down, forcing me to squint as it highlighted me. I ignored the ominous shouts and boos that came from the raiders, pushing forward and stopping only once I was thirty or so feet from the car wall. As the voices calmed down, I took the chance to buy us a bit more time for us all to get into position.

“Give it up 42!” I shouted, not even sure she could hear me. “You want this to be our final fight? Then let’s have it fair. One on one, me and you, right now.” If I could get her in the open, even if she took me down, I know Maple would hold up his end of the bargain.

“What? I never said it would be OUR final fight. I specifically remember saying it was the ultimate showdown.” Her voice came over the speakers with a squeak of delight. “And what a turnout! I can’t wait to see who comes out on top. Though… I do have to ask all my little soon to be cupcakes where the hell my fireworks are.”

“Longbow, we're a bit busy up here!” Maple spoke up next to me, ripping my attention from 42 with news from Longbow. “Who cares if there are ponies under the roadway? Unless it’s the whole base…” He paused and went quiet as I swear I could hear Longbow yelling at him through his helmet. His body went rigid for a moment as he put his hoof to his ear. “They have WHAT with them!?”

“Ugh, I guess the surprise is ruined, might as well ring the bell!” 42 spoke with a sinister tone that sent a shiver down the back of my neck. “Let’s see how many rounds you rangers can last in the ring.” There was a soft beep that came through the speakers, which preceded the only thing that I hadn’t considered 42 even doing. She was going to destroy the bridge.

BA-BOOM!

The colorful blasts of balefire energy lit up the night behind us and on the other side of the bridge from us, the force of the blasts throwing the few of us lucky to be this far up off our hooves. The ringing in my ears wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be, but as it turned out, it was less of a blessing than I thought, as I could hear the sharp snaps and squeals of the bridges roadway as it started to collapse, the screams of the rangers who fell to the water below haunted me as I got back to my hooves on the cracking and quickly disintegrating road.

Gunfire erupted from both sides as debris from the roadway pushed into the air from the blast rained down from the sky. I yelped as I jumped when a sizable chunk of concrete slammed down beside me, the slowly tilting roadway making me lose my balance when I landed and I ended up rolling back and onto my belly. I started to slide back, flailing my rear hooves until one of them slid into a gap just big enough for it to fit into, the sharp wires that lay just under the asphalt cut into my legs as I kept my head out of the gunfight. I yelped as half a ranger slammed down in front of me, the smoldering corpse coating me with blood as tried to use it as a point of leverage to pull myself up. Instead, I ended up pulling it hard enough it slid down the shifting roadway and over the edge, dropping into the water below where I would shortly be going if I couldn't find a way to move up.

This had become a complete nightmare. I thought we had been prepared, that we had the advantage. Instead, I had lead them into a slaughter. Once again I had failed the wasteland, and once again as I slowly pulled my way up the roadway, I was sure I was going to pay for it with my life.

Author's Notes:

With the closing of this chapter, we've finally reached the point where we've come back to the preface!

Thank you Kkat, for the inspiring story that started this all! Thank you Somber, for making Blackjack one badass mare. Thank you Mimezinga, the long road the pink ghost walked was one of the best. Thank you No-One, for not giving up on one of the most stubborn mares I've loved to read. Thank you Stonershy, Tap and Rita are simply the best bad guys around. Thank you John Colt, keeping me on my toes in your story has to be hard, but I enjoy the hell out of it. Thank you Hnetu, Hidden and Lost are perfect together, and I'm always waiting for the next installment in their adventures. Thank you Xjuan, I know I haven't been around a ton, but I'm thankful you've given me a chance to help. Thank you Tinker, The Deadmare are one hell of a monster, but even so, I thank you for reminding me that not all monsters are bad. Lastly, Thank you Delvius, Having a story with a setting as unique as yours has been a refreshing experience to read, and I hope there is a lot more of it to come!

I'd like to give a shout out to my editor, Sawyer. You've been there to help me get this out, and you've been an invaluable part of helping me work through this. Thanks buddy.

I'm going to give a special set of shoutouts to my regular commenters; Regolit, Revel Romp, and dude2976. Thanks for being so awesome guys, it really means a lot to me to hear what you have to say.

Lastly, thanks to you, the readers. I know that my story isn't the best, and it's far from being a masterpiece, but without you? It's little more than just something I wanted to get down on paper. You make it a story, and I thank you for giving it a chance to live.